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PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) — A Providence man is still recovering nearly 10 months after his car was hit by a wrong-way drunk driver. Now, he’s using the experience as a platform to educate and warn others.

Christian Tsoi-A-Sue was on his way home from work on an early August morning last summer. Suddenly, his minivan was hit by an SUV which was driving the wrong way down I-95 North near the I-195 split. “I’m lucky to be alive.

“When I say it happened fast, it happened SO fast,” he said this week.

Police said the 26-year-old wrong-way driver was drunk. He died at the scene.

Investigators assess the scene next to a minivan hit by a wrong-way driver on I-95 in Providence, August 22, 2015. (Submitted via ReportIt)

Christian’s Dodge Caravan also had heavy damage; so did he.

How to describe the feeling after impact?

“The pain, the pain — was just like, what is happening?”

What had happened: a broken femur, shattered knees, collapsed lungs, and one of Christian’s feet almost had to be amputated. He spent three weeks in the hospital after the crash.

“It changes your life,” he said. “I was a very active person. I’m young! I’m 24 years old. So I wouldn’t expect to be doing what I’m doing. I wouldn’t expect to be walking with a limp. Using a cane. Having to have a knee brace or a boot all the time…”

Physical therapy was required to get Christian Tsoi-A-Sue back on his feet after an SUV crashed into his minivan. (Photo supplied by Christian Tsoi-A-Sue)

Along with the injuries, more than $100,000 in hospital bills mounted. The driver who hit Christian had minimal insurance.

“It only covers a certain amount of money — which is, penny change, basically, compared to a $100,000 hospital bill, and another $20,000 here, $20,000 there.”